Waking Up as a Cat
by chocolate oreos me
Summary: Nico is a son of Hades and Thalia is a hunter of Artemis. They can never be together. Right? RIGHT? WRONG. What happens when Nico turns into a cat and gets adopted by the Hunters? Thaliconess.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything here.**

**Nico's POV**

I wake up, expecting to see the wall of my cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Instead, I see sunlight, a tree and a fern.

I stand up shakily on my paws, turning back to wash my fur. _Wait whaaaa?!_ Fur. I have fur. I officially have fur. _Wow, cuz that's sooo normal. _I start freaking out. I wave my black paw back and forth in front of my face to make sure I'm not insane or hallucinating or something. Sure enough, I see my black paw waving back at me. Ok, so I'm a cat. Casual. Well, its not exactly strange for a half-blood to wake up in odd places. Once, I was shadow travelling and passed out due to exhaustion. I woke up on the floor of a girl's public bathroom in China. Needless to say, it was difficult to explain what I was doing there to the police.

I run to a lake I see nearby to look at my reflection. Sure enugh, I've turned into a cat. Or kitten. A kitten or a very very small cat. A purely jet black kitten with pretty, emerald green eyes. _Did I just use the word pretty? _I think to myself._ Ahhh… turning into a kitten is making me lose my badass-ness. Is badassness even a word? _My ADHD mind frets over the most random things.

I hear footsteps and voices. I dive under a rose bush, thorns snagging in my fur. The footsteps come closer, and I hear a strong, femine voice. "What do we have here?" The voice coos. She drags me out of the bush by my tail. _Wow, rude much? _I look up, to see a familiar face. Oh. My. Gods. Is that Artemis? Sure enough, its her, dressed in silver and armed with a bow and arrow.

"Awwww! What a cute, adorable little kitten!" _Again, oh my gods. Artemis just said cute and adorable. In the same sentence. Impossible. _"We should keep her!" She continues. _Wow, did she just assume I was a her. Do I look like a she-cat or something? _Wait a second. _Did she just say she wanted to adopt me or something? _NO. I could not stay with the man-hating hunters. Then I really think about it. _What's the harm?_ I think. _It's not as if they know I'm a guy… _And Thalia will be there. Cute, awesome Thalia. Badass, loyal, Thalia. _Sure, what's wrong with staying with the Hunters until I figure out what's wrong with me?_

**Basically, Nico turns into a cat and is taken in by the Hunters. Next chapter, he'll meet Thalia, though she'll have no idea he's not actually a cat and that he's Nico. Please review, I adore reviewers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for anyone and everyone who reviewed this story! I was so amazed when I saw all the positive feedback I had gotten. I made this chapter longer. Enjoy!**

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**Nico's POV (as usual)**

Artemis drops me off at the Hunters camp. I easily get to my feet, or paws, or whatever when I see her walk out of a silver tent.

_Her_ is Thalia. Like, duh. She's the most amazing, unforgettable person in the world. She looks even better than she has before; literally glowing. I don't know if it's the blessing of Artemis, but she certainly looks happier. My heart aches; she's happy without me. She hasn't seen me for months, and she's still super happy. She doesn't need me.

I push these thoughts away. Why do I even care how she was doing without me? Isn't it a bit selfish for me to want her to only be happy with me? She's just a friend. A very good friend, but a friend nonetheless. And I doubt she even thinks about me that much. Again, I push these unhappy thoughts away.

"Mrow!" I say, to attract her attention. She sees me, and leans down. "Awwwww!" She coos. "Cute kitty!"

I don't know whether to be angry or amused. Haha, Thalia fawning over a kitten. Being a Hunter sure has changed her; for better or worse, I don't know. Seriously, are all girls automatically attracted to cute things? If so, I should remember to bring a kitten on dates. Then girls would never break up for me just so they could see the kitten again.

Thalia strokes my fur gently, which I could compare to a back massage for a human. I leap into her arms, and she says, "Wow, kitten! You're strong for such a little thing," She frowns. "We can't call you kitten forever. We should name you. How about… Molly?"

I meow crossly. No way. What a girly, unbadass name.

"No… How about Mittens?" She asks.

I meow crossly again. Ewwww. Mittens. No. So disgustingly cute. I _am_ a teenage guy, after all.

"Well… You're black with green eyes." I roll my eyes. Thanks for stating the obvious. She continues, "How about… Eve… no… Ivy… no… Night. Night?" She asks, a bit hesitantly. I nod my cat head (which I'm still not used to) a little too humanly and she laughs.

"You're like a little human!" She says. Wow, she has no idea how close she is to guessing the truth. _How do I turn back into a human, by the way? _I ask myself. Ugh. I still need to figure that out. Maybe Hecate is mad at Hades and is messing with me. Or, more likely, it's the Stolls playing a prank on me.

I purr. Then my stomach growls, very loudly. What _do_ cats eat? Like, mice or something, right? Well, I'm not catching one of those any time soon… like, gross… but maybe the Hunters have like special tasty cat food that doesn't look disgusting. That would be nice.

"Oh, you're hungry!" Thalia says. I think the reason she's nicer than me when I'm a cat than when I'm a human is because she has a soft spot for cats. Also, she needs to keep her 'badass' image, so she can't act nice in public, but it's not like a cat is going to tell everyone how unbadass she is. Haha, that's so Thalia.

Thalia snaps her fingers, and a bowl of cat food appears right in front of me. I wonder if this is a power all Hunters of Artemis have; conjuring cat food. How very impressive.

Surprisingly, the cat food actually smells good. I always thought cat food was made of chemically stuff made in factories, but I guess the Hunters of Artemis could conjure beter cat food than that. I dig in.

Thalia laughs. I don't think I've ever heard her laugh so many times in one day ever before; her laugh is so sweet. And beautiful. And amazing. I have to stop fantasizing about her; its not like we're ever going to be a thing. A guy can dream, though.

I've gotten through about half of the cat food on my dish and am still hungry when I see Thalia go back to her tent, probably to sleep. Surprisingly, she doesn't put me in a cage or something; she just knows I won't leave camp. Weird.

I ditch my food and get up to follow her back into her tent. She's already in silver pajamas. I've never ever seen Thalia in pajamas, but it seems like such a cute, teenage girl thing. I mean, Thalia _is _a cute, teenage girl but it's not like she ever really acts like one. I guess we've been through too much crap in our lives to be normal.

She gets into her silver sleeping bag. "Good night!" She says. I'm surprised she even bothers to say that, because I'm a kitten and as far as she knows I'm not understanding a word she's saying. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

I meow back and cuddle up next to her. We fall asleep, side by side.

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**Any ideas for what'll happen next? Any thoughts on this story? Please review, that would be sooo awesome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed! Some people have asked me why Artemis can't sense that he's human… I'll get to that soon. Btw, to the other reviewer who asked, Nico's a guy cat. Or tom cat. Whatever.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Nico's POV**

For the next couple of days, I follow Thalia everywhere, and we hang out though she's a human and I'm still a cat. I'm having so much fun with Thalia I forget that I need to change back into a human. For now, I'm content with being a cat as long as I'm with_her._

Most days, we wake up pretty early and brush our teeth. At least, Thalia does while I watch. She usually practices archery before lunch, then eats and hunts. While she hunts wild monsters, I stay near her and watch. She's got really good aim, but what if one day a monster comes up that she can't defeat?

One day, Daniella, one of the meanest girls in the ranks of the Hunters comes up to us. "Hey, Thalia!" She calls. "How's your little Nightey Cat doing?"

I growl at her, and Thalia scowls. "Go away, Daniella!" Thalia says.

"Make me." Replies Daniella. She pulls out a silver sword. I'm surprised; I thought Hunters used bows and arrows only.

Thalia just rolls her eyes, then flicks her finger. A bolt of lightning comes down on Daniella and hits her square in the chest. She sits down hard. _Wow, Pinecone Face's powers have really improved,_ I think, though inside, I'm really happy she would defend me against Daniella. Thalia's a true friend.

Thalia scoops me up in her arms and returns to her tent. Together, we watch the stars as she strokes the fur on my neck.

"Night, I want to tell you something," Thalia says softly. I don't think I've ever seen Thalia or heard her sound so emotional before. One thing I love, though, is how even though I look like a cat, she treats me like a human.

I look into her eyes to show her I'm listening. She continues, "I… I need to… just tell someone this. This thing… I'll get in so much trouble for." She emphasizes the word so. My ears prick up, like they do instinctively when I'm paying special attention listening. I'm concerned about anything that'll make Thalia this sad.

"I… I can't be a Hunter…" Thalia says. "Because Hunters don't fall in love."

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She continues, on and on and on. "There's this guy… Night, I don't know if you've ever fallen in love, but it's amazing. Breathtaking. And if you knew this guy…" She goes on and on about this amazing guy, how awesome he is, how great and fun. I feel like she's relieved she's finally told someone about her secret, and can't wait to tell me more.

It takes me a while to let what she just said sink in. _No…_Thalia could not be in love. She's Thalia. My Thalia. Fun, awesome, Thalia. There are so many words in the universe to describe Thalia, but the word that most fits is _my _Thalia. Wow, I sound like a control freak or crazily possessive, but that's how I've always thought of her. _My _Thalia is fun, _my _Thalia is kickass, _my _Thalia would never side with Kronos, and I couldn't imagine _my _Thalia falling in love with someone else.

I feel like my heart has been stabbed with a billion knives; this is the worse torture I've ever been through, and I've been through some pretty intense sh*t as a demigod. It's what demigods do. I feel like it's hard to breathe, like I can't get enough oxygen into my lungs quickly enough; my head starts to pound and everything starts to go fuzzy. It's amazing how Thalia can effect me.

I jump out of her arms, running the hell away from her, putting as much distance between us as possible. What I need to do is leave, forget about her. Then I'll never ever feel such pain again.

**When Thalia describes this guy she's in love with, she doesn't give a name. Nico, being Nico, just **_**assumes **_**it isn't him she loves, but someone else. This chapter's more romance and sadness and stuff than like humor... Which do you prefer? So… like… please review? Please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Read, review, enjoy!**

**Nico's POV**

I run straight for the forest instinctively. I've always loved the forest; it's so sheltered, protected and has a lot of shadows from the trees. I roll under a bush. It's already pretty late, way past when I usually sleep; I feel emotionally exhausted. But most of all, I just feel numb. I've already hurt so much today; I think I'm incapable of being hurt any more.

I fall asleep quickly, my tired paws aching and sore.

Ahhh, I have to break this habit of waking up in strange places in strange forms. The walls of where I'm at are pink. No, not normal pink, but sparkly hot pink. Ewww. Totally unbadass. Posh, fancy sofas and cushions are all around the room. Ahhh, I'm going blind from the pink. It looks like I'm in Barbie's apartment.

I get up and stretch. Wait, I don't have paws anymore. Say whaatt? When did that transformation happen? Was I kidnapped? I call out for help. "Anyone?!" I scream.

I see a small flash in front of me and see a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She's gorgeous. Not nearly as gorgeous as Thalia, though.

"Aphrodite?" I ask.

"Mhm," She answers. She pulls out a pink mirror from her pocket and begins to apply an extra layer of makeup. She looks like a clown.

"Wow, first time someone's compared me to a circus performer!" She says. I blush. So she can hear my thoughts. Awkward.

"Indeed, awkward." Aphrodite leans down so her face is right in front of mine. "You know, I can only read the thoughts of those deeply, _deeply _in love." She bats her eyelashes at me. I doubt she's trying to flirt with me; batting her eyelashes is just her second nature.

"So… I'm in love? Who with?" I say casually. We both know it's Thalia. Of course. Why do I even try to avoid talking about her?

"Mmm… Someone you think you can't have." She says. "A Hunter of Artemis. Forbidden love. You're in love with Thalia. Duh." Wow, the goddess of love using the word duh. Isn't that like, an unattractive word or something? Not that I would know.

She keeps talking. Gods, it's like she _never. Shuts. Up. _Good God. She goes on and on about Thalico. Eww, gross name. Then one part of her rant catches my attention.

"I've always known Thalico was a thing, you know," She says while applying lipstick. "See, I turned you into a cat and placed you with Thalia. I knew she liked you, of course, she's be in love with you forever… I just needed to see if you liked her back."

What? I find that so weird. Me not liking Thalia is the weirdest thing ever. I've been in love with her for so long. Clearly, for a goddess of love, Aphrodite isn't as good as reading a crush as she thinks she is.

Wait, wait, WHAT?! Aphrodite said that she knew Thalia liked me. Since when was that happening? Not. Possible. What happened to the guy she was fawning over yesterday night?

"That guy she was fawning over was you, you know." She reads my thoughts and answers my question. "My, my. You need to work on self-confidence."

"So… You turned me into a cat to… what… make us closer?" I ask.

She nods. "It's not like Artemis would ever let a man in her camp… Cats, however, are a whole different thing… Artemis and her Hunters have always had a soft spot for cats. You know, I've never believed someone who owns cats are forever alone or whatever, but… in Arty's case…" Then she continues to go on and on about Artemis and cats. Bla bla bla, yada yada yada. She really does go on and on.

"Why change me back now?" I interrupt. Strangely, I'm not mad at her for turning me into a cat. Whatever speeds up Thalico. Ughhh, I cannot keep saying Thalico. Besides, Thalico might not even exist yet.

Aphrodite casually flips her hair. "I changed you back to tell you she likes you, of course!" She says, as if it's so very obvious.

I'm confused. "So, to sum it up… You thought I didn't like Thalia and Thalia liked me. By the way, you're mistaken about that. I've liked Thalia for forever." Aphrodite just smirks. I continue. "Then, you turned me into a cat so I could stay with her and decide whether I liked her or not. She starts talking to me, about me. So she's liked me all along." I must be mistaken. No way Thalia would go for a guy like me. She's a Hunter. Besides, she's probably got about a million guys lined up for her.

For about the billionth time, Aphrodite reads my thoughts. "She might have a million guys lined up for her, but she likes you." She says. "So… what are you waiting for?"

**Sorry for not updating for some time… Hope I explain well in this chapter. Review pleaseeee!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Aww, thanks for all the comments! You guys are so awesome. Hope everyone likes this chapter!**

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**Nico's POV (duh)**

I try to wrap my head around this whole mess. So, Aphrodite turned me into a cat. Thalia talks about liking some guy, but it really isn't about some guy and is about me. Thalia likes _me. _But I think she likes someone else and ran off. Now I know she likes me. Good god. Life is a mess. Is love always like this?

Aphrodite does her stupid mind-ready thing again. "Yeah, yeah, kind of… Stop whining, though. Your love life isn't _nearly _as crazy as Paris's was. Boy, his life was cray!"

I frown. Um, ok. "Is Thalia still at the Hunters' camp?" I ask her. She nods, batting her long, fake eyelashes at the same time. I roll my eyes. Ugh.

"You want to go after her, don't you?" Aphrodite says. It's my turn to nod. She smiles and snaps her fingers. I feel my body go numb and my vision blur. The last thing I hear is Aphrodite saying, "Good luck!"

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I see bright sunlight and realize Aphrodite must have transported me to the Hunters' camp. "Thanks for the ride!" I yell at the sky, hoping she got that. I smile and walk to one of the silver tents I see in front of me.

"Stop right there!" I see Phoebe, one of the Hunters, point her sword at me. "No boys allowed!"

I roll my eyes. Overdramatic much? However. I've seen in the past what Hunters do to boys who don't follow the rules. I back off. "Could I please see Thalia?" I say in a soft voice.

"What, so you can use your man-powers on her and turn her to the dark side?" Phoebe says, sneering. I _wish _she was being sarcastic.

"Yes, Phoebe, yes." I say, nonchalantly. Now my sarcasm is confusing her. "I'm going to use the force to kidnap her and make her my personal slave."

Phoebe looks baffled, then decides on an answer, "Haha. Very funny." She points her head to the only golden tent out of all the silver ones. "Walk in there."

I'm pretty sure the golden tent is a death trap and I'm going to be impaled by arrows or something as soon as I step in it, but I'm desperate. I walk into the golden tent anyways.

"How dare you!" I hear a young femine voice and look around to see Artemis, looking as sour as always. "A filthy _boy_, walking in this tent?"

Phoebe steps up behind me. "I told him to come in here. He wants to see Thalia, and I figured I should just let you decide how you want to handle this."

Artemis's eyes surprisingly soften, and she sighs, a weary sigh. "Why do you want to see her?" She says.

"I have a message for her." I say. I really do have a message for her. I need to tell her I like her and ask her to go out with me. I even have this whole romantic speech planned.

"You're friends with Percy, right?" Artemis says. "I remember seeing you with him in the Last Battle."

I nod politely, figuring that was a safe answer. It's pretty widely known Artemis has a soft spot for Percy, though I have no idea why.

"What's your message for Thalia?" Artemis asks. I gulp. Oh, shoot. It's not like I'm gonna be like, 'Well, Artemis, I need to tell Thalia we're in love and she should quit the Hunters to be with me.' If I said that, Artemis would probably turn me into some sort of a rodent. Maybe a rat?

"Well…" I say, thinking fast. "I want to… talk… to Thalia… about a… petition? Petition, yes… A petition going on in Camp Half-Blood."

"What's the petition about?" She asks. Thankfully, she just seems curious, not suspicious that I'm lying. I think telling her I'm a friend of Percy's made her like me a whole lot more.

"Well…" I hesitate. "I need to ask her to sign a petition about changing the menu at Camp Half-Blood."

Artemis looks annoyed. "What's wrong with the menu? You have magical goblets that can refill at will and pizza and stuff. Geez."

Wow, did Artemis just use the word geez? Um, ok… I think up of another lie. "No, I'm cool with the magical refilling goblets," I say, slowly. "I just want Camp Half-Blood to start serving a vegetarian dish. Cuz… Because… um… I'm vegetarian now."

"What?" Artemis looks truly confused. A son of Hades, a vegetarian?

"No, no…" I make some other thing up fast. "It's not because I feel bad about animals dying. I mean, I'm a son of Hades. If things die, that just means there's more people to serve my father." I give her a convincingly evil smile. "I'm vegetarian because I truly believe vegetables give you more nutrients than meat."

"Let me get this straight…" Artemis squints. "You want to see Thalia because you want her to sign a Camp Half-Blood petition to add vegetarian food to the menu you created because you are now vegetarian because vegetables give you tons of nutrients."

"Exactly." I say, nodding convincingly. Inside, I scream at myself for being the worst. Liar. Ever.

She nods. "Good we got that all cleared up. I getit now." Wow. I can't believe those lies worked.

Then her face falls. "But I'm afraid you can't see Thalia."

"Why not?" I just about yell at her. She gives me a strange look that kind of says, 'Wow, he must be really uptight about this whole veggie thing. Or, he's just acting like a typical angry man.'

She pauses for a moment, then says, "I'm sorry, but you really can't see Thalia. She's been missing since yesterday."

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**A bit of a cliffhanger… Sorry if Artemis is out of character. Review on what you think should happen next! If you have some free time or like this story, please please please check out my profile page and look at some of my other stories. Thanks!**


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